2. In 2005, Fork Shoals School became an authorized International
Baccalaureate Primary Year Program School. The IB program is a
philosophy and not a curriculum. We teach the same standards as
any other South Carolina school. The approaches are what may
look different.
The purpose of this video and slideshow is to give you a glimpse of
what an IB education looks like for your child. After watching the
video or reading the slideshow, if you should have any questions,
please contact me, Mrs. Reid, principal, or Mrs. Giles, our
Instructional Coach/IB Coordinator.
In January, we will offer a parent workshop to give further
information for those who are interested.
3. The learner profile is the heart of the IB program. Our vision
is that our students will be principled, knowledgeable, open-
minded, balanced, caring, inquirers, thinkers,
communicators, risk-takers, and reflective. Our students
learn these words which become a part of daily lessons and
discussions. Each nine weeks, teachers acknowledge
students who exemplify these attributes. The idea is that our
students will be a person who exhibits each of these traits.
We want our students to be internationally-minded. When
students exhibit these attributes, they ARE internationally-
minded and should be able to work with anyone in the world.
Reports are sent home twice a year with feedback on how
students are progressing with the learner profile.
4. Students are often asked to reflect each week on how they
are doing with the profile. For example, teachers may ask
them to write how they have been a thinker this week.
You can help by using this vocabulary at home and asking
your child to give you examples of how they are exhibiting
these attributes.
Principled Inquirers
Knowledgeable Thinkers
Open-minded Communicators
Balanced Risk-takers
Caring Reflective
5. So what are the IB attitudes that you hear students and
teachers talk about? How are they different from the profile?
The attitudes are meant to SUPPORT the DEVELOPMENT of
the learner profile. When students show the attitudes, they
are exhibiting the attribute of the profile. The attitudes are:
Respect Cooperation
Commitment Confidence
Integrity Enthusiasm
Tolerance Empathy
Appreciation Curiosity
Independence Creativity
6. How do the attitudes support the profile? An example is the definition of
an inquirer. It states that “an inquirer develops their natural curiosity.
They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and
show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love
of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.” As you can see, the
ATTITUDES of curiosity and independence help a learner to be an
INQUIRER.
Our behavior management system also involves the attitudes. We are a
school who implements the behavior management program known as
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. Students receive star
cards for following the school wide expectations which is by showing the
IB attitudes.
When your child tells you that they got a star card, ask them what
attitude he or she was showing.
7. The most significant and distinctive feature of the IB Primary Years Programme are
the six transdisciplinary themes.
What does transdisciplinary mean?
Transdisciplinary is the word that IB uses to describe a discipline that applies across
all disciplines—it is an interconnectedness and can be applied across all subjects and
applied to real life. A Transdisciplinary concept stretches across math, science,
language arts, and social studies and ties it all together; it is not isolated to one
subject. For example, the idea of change affects all subject areas—the IB PYP strives
to demonstrate this through learning, giving understanding to a real life world.
These themes provide IB World Schools with the opportunity to incorporate local
and global issues into the curriculum and effectively allow students to “step up”
beyond the confines of learning within subject areas.
The six themes are:
8. Who we are
Inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; person,
physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human
relationships including families, friends, communities, and
cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
Where we are in place and time
Inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories;
homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and
migrations of humankind; the relationship between and the
interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local
and global perspectives.
How we express ourselves
Inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas,
feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which
we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation
of the aesthetic.
9. How the world works
Inquiry into the natural world and its laws, the interaction
between the natural world (physical and biological) and human
societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific
principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances
on society and on the environment
How we organize ourselves
Inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems
and communities; the structure and function of organizations;
societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact
on humankind and the environment.
Sharing the planet
Inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share
finite resources with other people and other living things;
communities and the relationship within and between them;
access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Each theme is addressed each year by all students.
10. Inquiry Instruction: Why is this effective for my child?
In a PYP classroom, teachers use inquiry based instruction to deliver content and
knowledge to the students. Using inquiry based instruction is based on educational
best practices research. Inquiry based instruction can be done on three levels. There
is open ended inquiry, guided inquiry, and teacher led inquiry. In open ended inquiry
students make the choice on what topic or concept to inquire about. With guided
inquiry the broad concept to be studied is chosen by the grade level teaching team.
Students can then take this broad concept and explore it using their own prior
knowledge, interests, and needs. Teacher led inquiry is similar to guided inquiry but
the teachers control the inquiry more by guiding students to specific inquiries.
Research is a wonderful way to conduct inquiry but it is not the only method. Some
other methods used include: experiments, collecting data and reporting findings,
interactive play, discussions and debates, solving problems, making connections and
predictions, and completing individual or group challenges. These are not the only
other methods but are a sampling of what your child might encounter.
Inquiry is effective in teaching students because individual student’s needs are built
into their inquiry. Students use their own background knowledge and strengths in
their studies and therefore can look very different to the child sitting next to them.
Because of this, inquiry is a very natural way to differentiate instruction for all
abilities. Often when students enter school they stop exploring on their own and rely
on others, namely the teacher, to learn. In the PYP we foster the child’s natural way
of learning by allowing them to explore and ask questions.
11. In order to conduct purposeful inquiry and to be well prepared for lifelong
learning, students need to master a whole range of skills beyond those
normally referred to as basic.
Thinking Skills
Acquisition of knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis,
Synthesis, Evaluation, Dialectical thought, Metacognition
Social Skills
Accepting responsibility, Respecting others, Cooperating, Resolving
conflict, Group decision-making, Adopting a variety of group roles
Communication Skills
Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Viewing, Presenting, Non-verbal
communication
Self-Management Skills
Gross motor skills, Fine motor skills, Spatial awareness, Organization, Time
management, Safety, Healthy life style. Codes of behavior, Informed
choices
Research Skills
Formulating questions, Observing, Planning, Collecting data, Recording
data, Organizing data, Interpreting data. Presenting research findings
12. The goal is that students will take ACTION based on what they
have learned. Sometimes action comes from what they have
learned. For example, a first grader learning about seeds may
come home and say that he wants to plant the seeds from the
apple that he has just eaten. A fifth grader may learn about
immigration and decide that she wants to research more about
what country her ancestors were immigrants from. Other times, a
child may learn about slavery and that in some countries it still
exists. He may then decide that he wants to get information out to
the public speaking against this act. Students may also show
action with the profile. Grade levels have posted action boards at
the end of their hallways for students to write about and/or post
pictures about their action. Teachers may also have action boards
in their classroom. You can help your child by encouraging him or
her to take action with their learning.
13. We hope that by watching this video or reading our slide show that
you are more knowledgeable about IB. General information is
available on our website www.greenville.k12.sc.us/forksh under
the parent link. You can also access the IB website at
www.ibo.org
Please look for our parent workshop that will be coming up and
plan to attend for additional information. We will give you the
opportunity to let us know what specific questions you may have
about IB and how it affects your child.
Do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher or contact one of us
should you have other questions. Thank you for your help as we
partner to provide the best possible education for your child!
Fork Shoals School-a rich heritage of
cultivating world-class learners!
